Author: andrewlenz (Page 151 of 328)

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 (Court Day #511)

I got off work and arrived at Skypark at 6:40 p.m. The parking lot was overflowing. Four portable nets were all set up, for a total of 8 courts. When I arrived two courts were empty and I soon got into a game with Paul and Matt against myself and Mark Dettle. Mark and I won, but I felt that I made a lot of uncharacteristic errors, but it was my first game.

And in my next game I was paired with retired firefighter Matt Smith against Paul and friend Matt. That was a much more lopsided game with Matt and me winning decisively. I played better in that game though I thought my drop shots are still higher than they should be.

I went on to play some additional games of no significant note.

Wow

The game of the night was a very strong player named Dan I’d seen around now and then—he wears a wide-brim straw hat and is about 5’11”. I don’t believe I’ve ever played with him before. I would consider him a 4.0 player—at least by his play tonight. He and I played against Casey and his dad Tim. I made too many errors, but that was a pretty fabulous back-and-forth game and there were some long rallies that were borderline unbelievable. There was one rally in particular the garnered applause and cheering from the players waiting and hanging out nearby. I really wish that I had recorded that game, it was pretty amazing. After that one incredibly amazing point—which ended when I dinked the ball into the net—it almost seemed as if Dan’s spirit had left his body, and he made a series of uncharacteristic errors and we lost the game. Hey, only I am allowed to make mistakes!

Rookies

I played a game with a man named Mike against Paul and the man’s teenage son Colin has surprisingly quick hands. Colin was better than the dad. Nothing to write about that game, other than there was a moment where I did a drop shot, got to the net facing the son and had a moment of delight I had a strong thought jump into my mind, ”I have you now!” It can be easy to whack the ball, but it’s a skill to have control during a dink rally!

And Not Wow

I went on to play some games with young David who is playing very, very well who played with Paul against Minori and me. I was basically falling apart in that game. I had shots into the net, shots too high that were slammed down for winners, dinks into the net, bleh. It was pretty depressing. We squeezed in one additional very quick game right before the lights clicked off.

Depressing

About 3/4 into the evening I felt as though I just wanted to go home, I was playing so poorly. I wasn’t very focused. There’s no doubt a combination of a long day, being hungry, and playing under lights (which is never my favorite). Heading home, I was pretty depressed.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2022 (No play)

Today, I finally went ahead and ordered a Focus Training Paddle. I noticed last night that I had hit a few shots toward the edge of my paddle rather than the center.

I emailed Eric S. and asked about maybe regularly drilling in the mornings before work, but he’s a late riser, rarely leaving his house before 9 a.m. I generally don’t either, but I want to drill and am willing to give up a little sleep if necessary.

Number of days on a court: 511
Number of total hours: 2,362

To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.

Monday, July 4, 2022 (Court Day #510)

After Friday when parking was nearly gone today, I arrived at 8:45. My first game was with Jason against Shawnte and Hemme. It was a good, fairly balanced game.

It was a very busy day with close to 60 people there.

Paul and friend Matt came from Scotts Valley, they were both off from work for the holiday, like me.

Miserable

I ended up partnering with a woman named Lena (Lay-nah) who is a strong player. I’d say 4.0. She and I played against Shawnte and René. I played a horrible game. Dropshots too high, a few dinks into the net, it was bad. Not the way to make an good impression on a strong player I’ve never played with. After that game, exasperated, I mentioned how rotten I had played. Rene was encouraging, “Don’t worry, we know that you are a good player.”

The crowd thinned out so there were only 15-20 players waiting to get on courts.

Advanced Player or Not?

There was some discussion brought up by Dan about players signing up outside of their true skill. I asked about John P. signing up in red. Dan said John is rated a “numerical 4.0”. When John and I played together in tournaments, opponents would pick on him, but he’s has improved in recent years. The thing is, John plays in the 60+ age bracket in tournaments. A 4.0 60+ is not going to be the same as a 20-year-old 4.0. Melody was a 4.0 in her age bracket in women’s doubles, but I’d compare her to a 3.0 open bracket player. That’s not to say I believe John is a 3.0, I don’t. But I do believe he’d be a 3.5 if he were competing with 30-somethings.

My last game was René and Shawnte against Charles and myself. It was a close back and forth game. Charles and I won that one. There was one moment I particularly remember, after Shawnte rocketed a shot at the net right at me and I returned it to his feet for a winner. Shawnte was hard on himself but Rene said, “Don’t blame yourself, Andrew just has super fast hands.” Nice to hear.

It was 12:45 and time to go, I had things to do at home and my wife and I would be heading to my parents for a 4th of July party with my extended family.

Today, my biggest problem was my dropshots sailing high and getting slammed off the court. I have to dial that in.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2022 (Afternoon)

After talking to another player today, the feeling is that my netplay was stronger than John P.’s but he has caught up with my skill level “at the line”. But that we both suffer from a “wide range” between good games and bad games. John and I both need to work on our consistency.

This is where my bout with tennis elbow is frustrating. My skill improvement stalled out as I played lefty for about three years. But all I can do is look forward and actually commit to drilling and working on my pickleball skills.

Number of days on a court: 510
Number of total hours: 2,359

To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.

Sunday, July 3, 2022 (Court Day #509)

When I arrived at Derby Park, a number of women were already there. In a first, I was soon out numbered 9 women to 1 man—me!

Of particular note, a new storage bin was installed by Dan Bliss. I have to say, I hate the new bin. The lock system is nasty. You have to fish around underneath to get to each padlock—that you can’t see—and you have to completely remove both locks to open the lid. It’s tedious and very inconvenient. But I guess the point is that it’s tedious and inconvenient to thieves as well.

It was a big crowd today. Easily 50 people. Brandon—visiting from Georgia—who was at Brommer Park two days ago, was playing and brought his wife this time. (She’s in town for her job and was working Friday, today she was off.)

Newbie

There was a new player, Hilary. I trained her and played a couple of games with her. She comes from a strong tennis background, She did fabulously. She was immediately an intermediate player. She and I played against Brandon and a woman I don’t know—but decent—and Hilary and I won. After Hilary’s first game she quietly asked the etiquette when playing against weaker players—like dial it back? Pretty amazing for a first-timer to already be asking that question!

Rick (of Rick and René) brought his son Ricky. Ricky has improved and is now a 3.5 level player with impressively quick hands.

It started to get breezy around noon and got to be quite windy…enough to significantly alter the flight of a ball at times.

And?

I had my moments, but I wasn’t playing “locked in”. Too many dumb errors. Drops shots that were too high, attacks against strong players with quick hands.

It was a very long session. It was 5 1/2 hours between the time I arrived and the time that I was leaving the courts.

Number of days on a court: 509
Number of total hours: 2,355

To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.